War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.

At least, that’s what he thinks.

In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they’ve done to her.

But no one gets what they want just by wishing.

As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win?

My Review: Kestrel is taken to a camp to work. Is she still a princess? Well technically not while she's at the camp. She pretty much got screwed over once her dad read a letter meant for another. That letter lost her everything. The kingdom, fiance, wedding, and now she has nothing.

Meanwhile Arin is seeing Kestrel in a way that he can't stand her. But if he only got that letter things could be seen differently. She isn't as bad as he thinks.

While at the camp Kestrel is put to work. Given food and drink laced with something that gives her enough power to work like it's no one's business.

As you read along, things seem tough and who know where things will go. But then you are hit with a surprise that changes everything. You will be hooked and then saddened at the end of the series. It was a rocky start for me, but the series ended is a way that made me enjoy the series.